Mining-machine.



H. A. KUHN.

MINING MACH 5. APPLICATION FILED 00T.12, 1907. BBNBWED NOV. 21, 1908.1,079,353 Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES. j. fw

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 12, 1907. RBNEWED NOV. 2l, 190B. 1,079,353.

H. A. KUHN.

MINING MACH all III! l' yk! smm 9 di ,N

WITNESSES.

H. A. KUHN.

MINING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLBD 001.12, 1907. RENBWED Nov. 21, 1908.

1,079,353. Patented 11011.25, 1913.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. 1 1v1' wlTNEssEs. nNvsNTon.

y. 6 dw/ww Jak? UM HARRY A. KUHN, OF PITTSBURGH, PNNSYLVANA.

MINING-MACHINE.

Speeiication of Letters latent.

Patented Nov. 25,- `1913'.

pplication led 0ctober12, 19'07, Serial No. 897,126. Renewed November21, 1908. Serial 10'0. 483,891.

To atl /whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY A. KUHN, a resident of Pittsburgh, in thecounty of illegheny and State of Pennsylvanla, have invented a new andusefulImprOvement-in Mining-Machines; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof. t

My invention relates to mining machines.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine which will rapidlycut the coal and at the same time rut] it in such a manner that the coalmay be taken out in large blocks or lumps, thereby doing away with thenecessity of blasting in order to break down the coal after the undercuthas been made.

To these ends my invention comprises the novel features hereinafter setforth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of my improvedmachine; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 8 is anenlarged section on the line 3-3 Fig. 1; Fig. 4 1s an enlarged sectionon the line 4 4 Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5 5Fig. 1; Fig. 6. is an enlarged detail sectional view of the forward .endof the stationary frame; Fig. 7 is a detail of the manner of feeding theverticalsaws or cutters; Fig. 8 is a plan view of one 0f the horizontalcutters; Figs. 9 and 10 are details; Fig. 11 shows the front face of thecoal after my improved machine has made the cuts; Fig. 12 is anenlarged' view of a portion of chain; and Figs. 13 and 14 show modifiedforms of a breaking down device.

In the accompanying drawings .the nu- :neral 2 indicates a suitabletruck mounted on wheels 3 which are adapted to travel upon a track 4laid within the mine. This truck 2 may be huilt Vup by angle barsproperly braced and riveted together and mounted on said truck is theplatform 5- which carries the frame 6. This platform 5 is swiveled onthe truck 2 so as to be turned thereon around a central point and saidplatform has the pivotal pin 7 extending down within the center plate 8of the truck 2.

Supported on the frame 6 is the `conveyer trough 9 which is located onan inoline and operating in connection with said conveyer trough is theconveyor chain 10 12 which 18, and said chain then passes up and Iaroundthe sprocket'wheels 14 and 15 on the vertical shafts 16 and 17. As thechain 10 has to conform veyer trough 9 and at the bottom thereof extendsout on a substantially horizontal plane where it passes around thesprocket wheel 12 I prefer to employ the construction of chain'shown inFig. 12. This chain is made up of the forked links 18, to which areswiveled by means of a pin 19 the links 20. These links engage theforked end of the links'18. and are secured thereto by means of the pins21. In this manner I provide a chain which has movement in a horizontalas well as an inclined plane so as to provide for the conformin l of thechain to the course that it has to ma e in the conveyertrough as well asto the chan e in the direction to pass around the sproc et 12.

In order to provide for the travel of the chain 10 I employ the motor22, the motor carrying the gear wheel 23 which meshes with the gearwheel 24 on the shaft 25.

t0 the incline of the con- A bevel gear 26 on the shaft 25 meshes with abevel gear 2 7 on the vertical shaft 16 and in this manner power isimparted to rotate said shaft and provide for the travel of the chain 10carrying the conveyer arms 11.

Secured to the shaft 13 'is the circular saw or cutter 28, said cutterbeing provided on its periphery with removable cuttingtools 29 which maybe arranged at an angle to project in such way as to cut wider than thethickness of the body of the cutter so as to give full clearance of thesame in entering the coal. This cutter 28 is (lished 'as at 30 toreceive the plate 31, which is bolted or otherwise secured to theforward end of the conveyer trough 10. This plate is adapted to receivethe fallen `coal and the conveyer arms 11 passing over said plate carrythe coal therefrom and convey it up the conveyer trough in the mannerfully hereinafter set forth. The shaft 13 passes up through the bearing32 which is bolted as at 33 to the conveyor frame and said shaft carriesat its upper end the bevel .pinion 34. A hollow beam or girder 35 issupported by means of the threaded standards 36, said standards beingsupported .by the platform 5. `The 'straps sta`ndards36 engage@ Theselugs 38 have 'Y the grooves 39`which are adapted to engage the flanges40 projecting from the T-bars 41 which are secured to the frame 6. Inthis manner the upward movementl of the lu s is 'guided by said T-bars.The upper en s' i standards. The beam35 is encircled bythe fianges 44,said flanges having the beadings- .h

45 which are adapted to engage grooves46 formedto receive them in thehangers 37.

' The beam 35 is free to move longitudinally within the fianges 44. -Inthis4 manner the .35 so as to upward movement of the beam 35 is obtainedby turningthe threaded standards 36 while at the same time said beam isadapted to be rotated or rocked in the straps or hang- 'i ers 37.

In order to provide for the turning of the beam 35 I provide th efollowing mechanism: Surrounding the sald bea-m is the circular wormrack 47, said -beam being free to move longitudinally in said rack. AwormA 49 is ada ted to engage a circular worm rack and sai -worm islnounted on the shaft50 which is mounted in bearings 51 inthe movableplate 52. This plate 52 is secured to the frame 6 by means of the screws53 and said frame 6 is provided with a slot 54 with which said screwsengage so as to allow for the upward or downward movement of the plate52 with reference to the frame 6, when the beam is raised by thethreaded standards 36. l One' of said screws 53 is provided with 'athumb nut 55 by means of which the plate 52 may be tightened up and heldin position on the plate 6. The upper end of the shaft 50 is providedwith the handle 56 for rotating the worm 49. In this manner it willV beapparent that a rotary lmovement may be imparted to the beam 35 by meansof the worm 49. The bearings 51 are recessed or cut away so as to permitthe entrance ofthe rack 47 to prevent the longitudinal movement of saidrack when the beam inc losed thereby is moved longitudinally. To provideforr this longitudinal movement of the beam I encircle said lbeam andattach thereto the ring 57 having the tongue 58 adaptedto engage agroove 59 in the split ring 60. This ring rigidly holds the beam traveltherewith. The bearing 60a of the partible Aring 60 is internallythreaded and engaging therewith is the threaded bar 61. The bar 61 ismounted in a bearing 62 so as to be held against longitudinal movement.As this bar 61 is rotated, being held against longitudinal movement, itis apparent that by engaging the threaded opening v6() o f the partiblering 57 or hangersv 3 7 lhave thev 'threaded'lugs 38 with which thethreaded that said ring. and the beam held thereby will be givena'longitudinal movement. In order to provide for the upward movement ofthe beam 35 when adjusted by the threaded standards 36, the bearing 60forms part' of theplate 62 which is adjustable'up and down'by means ofthe screws 63 which move in slots 'formed in the frame 6.' The screws-63 areprovided' with thumb nuts 65 by means of which said plates 62 maybe released in order to allow for the upward' movement of the bearing 60together with the beam 35. 'i

Extending through the beam 35 is the shaft 66 which is driven by thenotor4 67. This shaft 66 passes through bearings 67 in the said beam 35and at its outer end is secured to bevel gear 68 which meshes'with thebevel gear 34 on the shaft 13 as well as the bevel gear 69 on the shaft70. This shaft 70 is journaled in bearings 71 on the beam 35 and securedto the upper end of this shaft is the circular saw or cutter 72.

The saw or circular cutter 72 is provided onA its lower face with theWedge or block 73 which is secured-to said saw by means of the rivets74. This wedge block is arranged at a suitable distance from theperiphery of said saw and is wedge-shaped in two directions, as clearlyindicated in Figs. 9 and 10. The purposeA of this wedge block will befully hereinafter set forth. The cutters 28 and 72, while illustrated ascircular or disk shaped, arenot necessarily round in form inthe sense'offorming a complete circle, but may be of.

other lforms approaching the circular. It is only essential that they beHat with the cutters at their outer edges.

At the sides of the frame are 'the shafts 75 and 76 arranged in suitablebearings in the main frame. In order to drive the shaft 75 a motor 77 isprovided, said motor having the gear wheel 78 meshing with the gearwheel 79 on the'shaft 80. This shaft 8() has thel sprocket wheel 81thereon with a 'sprocket chain 82 extending around the sprocket wheel 83on the shaft 75. 'This shaft 75 is long itudinally4 movable in itsbearings and accordingly is provided with the feather 84. At the outerends of the' shafts 75 and 76 are the bevel gears 85 which mesh with thebevel gears 86 upon the studs 87 which carry the vertical saws orcutters 88.

The shaft 76 is driven from the motor 22, the motor shaft having thesprocket wheel 89 thereof and a sprocket chain 90 extending to thesprocket wheel 91 on the shaft 92. A shaft 92 has the sprocket wheel 93and a chainv94 connects said sprocket wheel with the sprocket wheel 95on the longitudinal shaft 76.

In order to provide for the longitudinal movement of the shafts 75 and76 and the feeding in of the vertical saws 88 I provide levers 96, saidlevers being secured to the arms 97 which are secured to the frame, the-upper ends of said arms having the slots 98 with which thev pins 99 onthe shafts 75 and 76 engage. It. is apparent by a movement of the levers96 theshafts 75 and 76.may be moved forward or backward to feed orwithdraw the cutters 88 independently of the horizontal cutters as fullyhereinafter set forth.

When my improved machine is in operation the truck 2 is moved along thetrack 4 until the machine has been brought into position in front of thewall of coal` to be cut, whereupon power is then applied to the motorsto drive the horizontal cutters 28 and 72 and the vertical cutters 88through the connections described from the several motors .tosaidcutters.v As the cutters cut into the coal the frame of the machine maybe advanced in any suitable manner and the undercut will be made by theundercutter 28, and the cutter 72 will cut a horizontal cut at somedistance above said undercut,

while the vertical cutters 88 will cut at each side of and beyond thehorizontal cuts. As the cutters are driven at a very high rate of speedthey will readily cut into the coal and as the undercut is made thelupper horizontal cut will be made at the same time by the cutter 72.The action of the wedge block 73 on the cutter 72 Awill vibrate theunder layer of coal at each roytation of said cutter 72 and the wedgeaction ofsaid block will act to break down the coal, as said cutteradvances, so that it will fall in large lumps'upon the plate 31therefrom by the conveyer arms 11 of the conveyer chain 10. ,This

coal will be carried up the conveyer trough' and delivered tothe chuteat the rear end of same to be discharged into a car or other suit-ablereceptacle located there to receive it. Thel wedge block 73 beinginclined in both directions will Work its way readily into the coal, asthe cutter rotates4 and through lits wedging action will act to loosenand separate the coal above the undercut. -When the machine has beenoperating until the undercutter 28 has cut its full depth, the machinemay then be withdrawn and the upper cutter 72 raised so as to cut thecoalat a higher level. To, provide forthis adjustment of the uppercutter it vis necessary to elevate the beam 35. Thel 0341 eratoraccordingly turns the threaded stan ards 36 which act tolift the beamand disengage the bevel gear 68 from-.the bevel gear 34, which rendersinoperative the undercutter 28. The threaded standards 36 are turneduntil the beam 35 has been raised to the proper height. In order topermit of this upward'movement of the beam 35 the plates 52 must beloosened byv the thumb nuts 55 to allow of the upward movement be to jarorl this beam 35 carrying the cutter 72, the opcauses said beam 35 tothe'coal.

In the same manner as above ,described the cutter 72 rotating at a highspeed cuts into the coal and at the same time through the action of thewedgeblock breaks down the cpal in lumps and deposits it upon thereceiving plate l31 to be carried up the conveyr. In. this manner anumber of horizontal cuts may be made and the coal broken down withoutthe use of explosives, and at the same time the coal is broken into suchlarge lumps that very little slack results. If 1t is desired to shiftthe horizontal c utters 72 into an angular position to make cross cutsin the wall in addition to the horizontal cuts, it is only necessary fort-he operator'to turn the handle 5.6 whereupon the worm 49 turns theworm rack 47 on the beam 35, and said beam may be rotated or tilted soas to bring the cutter 72 into the position indicated in Fig. 4. In thismanner the cut is made at an angle to the horizontal cut and the coalwhen 'crosssawed in this manner Vis readil removed (see 11). As theframe of t e machine is swiveled onthe truckv the beam 35 may be swungaround at different angles to .the

ont face of the coal so as to make cuts on all sides. cutter may be evenswung around to a horizontal position instead of merely stopped at theangle indicated in Fig. 4,' whereby the cutter is capable of being usedat different levels.

In Figs. 13 and 14 I have shown amodisaw or cutter 72 is provided withthe eccentric hub 102. An eccentric strap 103 encircles said hub andsaid strap has the arm .104 projecting out therefrom with the beveledend 105; Guides or stops 106 are provided on the frame and it w1ll beapparent that as the'cutter rotates the eccentrlc will act to move thearm 104 back and forth and so give a jarring action to the coal,

said guides preventing the rotation of the arm.

I wish to include within the sco invention other forms of cutters thanthose illustrated, as my invent-ion is capable of a wide application andis in no way limited to and described.

What I claim is:

n 1 .v In a mningm-achine, the combination erator turns the threaded bar61 which, move forward into the specllicv form of mechanism illustrated,

Owing to th'e .rotary leam'the p, y

fied form of wedgmg device in which the with a suitable frame orsupport, of a conwith a suitable frame or support, of a `beam supportedthereby, means for raising and lowering said beam, means for moving saidbeam longitudinally, a cutter carried by said beam and mechanism carriedby said beam for driving said cutter.

3. Ina m' 'ng machine, the combination with a suitable frame or support,of a beam carried thereby, means for moving said beam longitudinally,means for tilting'or rocking said beam laterally, a cutter carried bysaid beam and mechanism carried by said beam for driving said cutter.

4. In a mining machine, the combination with a suitable frame orsupport, of a hollow beam, a shaft supported within said hollow beam, amotor for driving said shaft, means tor raising and lowering said beam,means for moving the same longitudinally, a cutter carried bysaid -beamand connections between said shaft and said` cutter for driving thelatter.

5. In a mining machine, the combination with a` suitable frame orsupport, of a hol low beam, hangers supporting said beam, threadedstandards engaging said hangers, a shaft extending through said beam, a

motor driving said shaft, a cutter carried by said beam,connect-ions'between said shaft and sam cutter, and means for movingsaid beam longitudinally.' n y 6. In a mining machine, the combinationwith a suitable frame or support, of a beam,

` a circular rack surrounding said beam, said beam being longitudinallymovable'therein,

worm shafts engaging said rack, means for moving said beamlongitudinally, `a shaft extending through said beam, va motor fordriving said shaft, a cutter carried by-said beam and connectionsbetween said shaft and said cutter.

7. In 'a mining machine, the combination of a suitable frame, cuttingmechanism supported. thereby to make a horizontal cut, cutting mechanismto cut at an angle Ito the said first mentioned cut, and means foradvancing said last named cutting mechanism independently of the firstnamed cutting mechanism.

8. In a mining machine, the combination of a suitable frame, cuttingmechanism supported` thereby to make a plurality of horizontal cuts,cutting mechanism adapted to make a plurality of cuts at an angle tosaid first named cuts, and means for advancing said last named cuttingmechanism independently of said first named cutting mechlIllSm.

In testimony whereof, I .the said HARRY A. KUHN have hereunto set myhand.

HARRY A.. KUHN.

Witnesses:

. ROBERT C. To'rrEN,

J. R. KELLER.

